Feast of the Archangels (2026)

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins, and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My immaculate Mother, St. Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

The liturgy for today celebrates the feast of the three archangels who have been venerated throughout the history of the Church. Michael, from the Hebrew “who is like God,” is the archangel who defends the rights of God against Satan and all his evil angels. Gabriel, “the power of God,” is chosen by the Creator to announce to Our Lady the mystery of the Incarnation. Raphael, “the medicine of God,” is the archangel who takes care of Tobias on his journey.

We read in the Gospel of today’s Mass, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” (John 1:51). The angels continually praise God. According to the Psalms, we are told that according to the plan established by Divine Providence, they play a part in the Almighty’s dominion over creation, as mighty doers of his word.

The Creator entrusts special care and concern for each person to a guardian angel in particular. John Paul II says they present our petitions and prayers to God for our benefit. And in a special way, the guardian angels influence those who play a special role in our salvation, like priests, for example. Their mission as ambassadors of God extends to entire nations as well. Men call on the angels and the archangels every day and at every hour within the Mass to praise the glory of God throughout the entire world.

Today’s feast is a special opportunity to consider that the Church honors three archangels in the liturgy by name. The first being Michael. The etymology of the word is the synthesis of the essential disposition of these good spirits. Who is like God? The second is Gabriel, who is connected above all with the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. The term means “power of God,” or “my power is God.” The third is Raphael, whose name means “God heals.” By meditating on his mission to Tobias, we better understand the verse in Hebrews concerning the purely spiritual beings we honor today.

In the Letter to the Hebrews it says, “are they not all ministering spirits, sent for service, for the sake of those who shall inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14). Their proximity to our everyday life moves us to pray in the words of the liturgy. “O God our Father, in a wonderful way you guide the work of angels and men. May those who serve you constantly in heaven keep our lives safe from all harm on earth.” These are the words of the opening prayer to today’s Mass.

We receive countless deeds of assistance from the archangels and from our guardian angels whose feast day we’ll celebrate in a few days’ time. The existence of angels is frequently a tangible proof of God our Father’s loving concern for us his children. We could ask ourselves, do I seek their intercession in the midst of my daily occupations? Do we feel secure in their company throughout the day? Especially in the midst of tribulation, or when we are about to lose the serenity and peace proper to the sons and daughters of God.

In the first reading of the Mass, we read, “Now war broke out in heaven, when Michael with his angels attacked the dragon. The dragon fought back with his angels, but they were defeated and driven out of heaven. The great dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the devil or Satan, who had deceived all the world, was hurled down to the earth and his angels were hurled down with him” (Rev. 12:7–9). The Fathers of the Church interpret these words of the Apocalypse as a testimony of the battle between Michael and the devil when the angelic spirits were put to the test.

St. Gregory the Great says they also understand the fight Satan sustains against the Church throughout the centuries. The ongoing battle will reach a final conclusion at the end of time. According to Jewish tradition, some Church Fathers corroborate that the devil is an angelic creature who became God’s enemy by not accepting the dignity granted mankind by the Incarnation. The devil and his followers were rejected from heaven, and ever since have never ceased tempting men and women, so that through sinning, they might be deprived of glory.

St. Michael appears in the Old Testament. He defends the chosen people on God’s behalf. John Paul II comments, “the continuous struggle against the devil that characterizes Michael the Archangel is still going on, since the devil who seeks to take advantage of every situation is still living and operative in the world.”

That’s what Alvaro del Portillo told us once in a get-together. One time he was with John Paul II, and John Paul II said to him, “Have you ever seen the devil?” And he answered, “No, but I experience him every hour of every day.” And John Paul II said, “Well, me too.”

There are periods in which the existence of evil among men becomes signally apparent. There’s the impression today that people don’t want to see the problem. “Everything possible,” said John Paul II, “is done to remove from public awareness the existence of the cunning attacks of the devil who holds dominion over the underworld,” as spoken of in Ephesians. Nevertheless, there are historical periods when the profound truth of this revelation of faith is expressed with greater force and is almost tangibly perceived.

Given that the devil’s activity in society is occasionally expressed with great force and is almost tangibly perceived, the Church therefore invokes St. Michael as a protector in adversity and against his ploys. The Liturgy of the Hours says, “Send Michael, the prince of the heavenly host, to the aid of your people. May he defend them against Satan and his angels on the day of battle.” Their plots are real and threatening, since they try to extinguish the life of Christ in souls. Their maneuvers would be terrible if we didn’t count on divine grace, the help of the good angels, and the help of our Blessed Mother from heaven.

We’re also reminded on today’s feast that at the beginning of creation came the first adoration of the Almighty on the part of angelic beings, of the spiritual caliber of “who like God,” Michael and his angels. “While the Apocalypse makes us aware of the most exalted affirmation of the Creator’s majesty in Michael’s complete love of God, it leads us to realize the fullness of hatred which broke out in rebellion against Christ,” said John Paul II.

The impact of Satan is still prevalent in the world today in countless ways. When loving service to God and others is falling off and more keenly felt in our surroundings, it should be a reminder for us Christians to love and serve Him even more with all our being and without expecting anything in return. Serviam, Lord, I will serve. I shall serve you. We can tell this to Him many times each day in the intimacy of our hearts. We could take advantage of today’s feast day to say, “Jesus, I have no other ambition than to serve you.”

Christ is the true conqueror of sin, death, and the devil. With Him and in Him, we always rejoice, we always achieve victory, since He helps us through the angels and the saints. Referring to the final events of his life on earth, Our Lord says, “Now is the judgment of the world. Now will the prince of the world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself” (John 12:31–32). When the disciples report that the devils are subject to them in his name, Our Lord exclaims, “I saw Satan fall as a bolt of lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Nevertheless, the triumph of Christ over the devil will not take place until the end of the world.

Therefore, after exhorting the first Christians to have full confidence in God, St. Peter tells them, “cast all your anxieties upon him because he cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). He also rouses them to vigilance. We’re told in St. Peter, “be sober and watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). St. Cyprian comments, “he encircles each one of us like an enemy besieging a fortress, examining the walls to find a weak spot at which to launch an attack.”

Possibly St. Peter recalls the words of Our Lord as he was writing to the early Christians. “Simon, Simon, behold Satan has a desire to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:31–32).

Perhaps the greatest triumph of Satan and his followers in our own days is that many have either forgotten about them or question their existence. They may say belief in angels was held only during less culturally advanced periods of history. We shouldn’t forget though that their mysterious action in the life of the world and their influence on people is real and effective. May we frequently seek the protection of St. Michael the Archangel to triumph over every evil.

During the previously mentioned discourse, Pope John Paul II repeatedly comes back to the ancient prayer, made through the intercession of the angelic warrior. “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust down to hell Satan and all wicked spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls.”

Scripture identifies St. Raphael as one of the seven spirits who stand before God. God sent him to take care of Tobias on his journey. He also comforted Sarah in her adversity. The Church has long invoked Raphael as the patron of travelers. He is most especially the intercessor for traveling along the way of life.

The feast of St. Raphael is found in liturgical texts in the Middle Ages. Devotion to him was extended to the universal Church by Pope Benedict XV in 1921. Currently the feast is celebrated together with the Archangels Michael and Gabriel on September 29. In the entrance antiphon of the Mass we’re told, “I give you thanks O Lord with my whole heart. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises my God” (Ps. 138:1).

John Paul II said, “we know St. Raphael the Archangel principally through the history of Tobias, which is significant for the account of the Creator’s confiding to the angels the little children of God, who are always in need of vigilance, care, and protection.”

Sacred Scripture narrates how the young Tobias prepared to set out on a journey. He first went in search of someone to accompany him and found Raphael, who was an angel. At the beginning of the trek he didn’t know his companion well, but repeatedly had occasion to experience his protection on the road. Raphael led the young man happily to his relative Raguel, whose daughter Sarah, Tobias would marry. As one writer says, “the helpful fellow traveler exorcised the bride-to-be of an evil spirit and later cured Tobias’s father of his blindness.”

Today, therefore, St. Raphael is venerated as the patron of both travelers and of the sick. On the way back, the Archangel revealed his identity. He said, “I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who present the prayers of the just before the majesty of the Holy One” (Tob. 12:15).

Life itself is a long journey that ends in God. To reach the end of the road safely, we need help, protection, and advice, since there are many possibilities of straying or getting perilously detained on the road. We want to avoid losing precious time. God points out to each one of us the personal vocation that leads to Him. It’s important not to go astray on the road since it’s a matter of knowing and fulfilling the will of God.

For this reason, we can all entrust ourselves to the patronage of St. Raphael the Archangel, who is a special guide for those who still need to find out what God expects of them in life.

For some, the path will be the road of matrimony. That state of life is a way to holiness. Parents cooperate with God in bringing children into the world. They educate and make sacrifices for them so that they may grow to become good children of God. St. Josemaria in The Way says, “Do you laugh because I tell you that you have a ‘vocation to marriage’? Well, you have just that: a vocation. Commend yourself to St. Raphael that he may keep you pure, as he did Tobias, until the end of the way.”

For others, God has plans of particular predilection. “How frankly you laughed when I advised you to put your youthful years under the protection of St. Raphael, so that he may lead you, as he did the young Tobias, to a holy marriage with a girl who is good and pretty and rich” “I added jokingly. And then how thoughtful you became when I went on to advise you to put yourself under the patronage of that youthful apostle John, in case God were to ask more of you.”

We’re told in the book of Revelation, “I will give you a white stone with a new name written on it which no one knows except the one who receives it” (Rev. 2:17). St. John makes reference here to the custom of showing a stone stamped in the right way as an entrance ticket to verify payment and gain admittance to a banquet. On a deeper level, it refers to one’s vocation and the unique personal relationship with God that such a grace brings with it. God invites each person to voluntarily participate in the divine plan of salvation. He’s always the one who issues the call and has the best design in his mind. We’re told in St. John, “you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you” (John 15:16).

Something similar happens when a film director wants to select the cast for his production. He’s seated at a desk strewn with dozens of photographs of actresses that their agents have given to him. After a while he picks one up, pauses, and says to a secretary, “Yes, this is the kind of woman I need. Call and set up an appointment with her immediately.”

Through this crude example, we can get some idea of the purpose of our existence. From all eternity, God planned the universe in its entirety and selected the protagonists who would perform in the production until the end of time. He saw the picture, as it were, of every soul he would create. When he arrived at the picture of each one of us, it is as if he stopped and said, “This is the soul that speaks to my heart. I need this one to carry out a unique and personal role in my plans and then enjoy my presence for all eternity.”

God loved us, called us to life, and then to dedication towards the fulfillment of his plan, so that we might reach the plenitude of happiness. St. John Paul points out, “in fact, from eternity, God has thought of us and has loved us as unique individuals. Every one of us he has called by name, as the good shepherd calls his sheep by name.”

Vocation is the divine plan for our life. It’s a road to travel that leads to God, who awaits us at the end of it. It’s important to find this path since finding it will show the role that God wants us to play in his salvific design. When we freely choose to do what God wants, we renounce what we ourselves want. This is not to say that God’s will and my will have to be always in conflict. In most cases, to do God’s will is most appealing. “There will be times,” said one writer, “however, when God’s will and our will are not in perfect harmony. So inasmuch as such conflicts will probably arise from time to time, we have to be disposed to identify our will with his will.” This is the ultimate test of whether we love God. It’s certainly the best way to correspond to his love.

Today we can ask St. Raphael the Archangel to guide us amid the many decisions we have to make in our life. May we always seek the will of our Father God. May we also pray for our friends, especially the youngest of them, so that they too may find their path to the Lord. We can make an effort to accompany them in their difficulties in a discreet and simple way, like a good friend, as the Archangel did with Tobias. May our advice and firm friendship never be lacking for them. May we always remember that the most divine task is to cooperate with God in the salvation of souls.

One of the most noble duties of our existence is to encourage others to imitate Our Lord. We ourselves want to go directly to him. On the way though, we frequently find that others vacillate, doubt, or don’t know the best route to take. God provides us with light for the benefit of these others. “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14), the Master said to all who follow him. The closer we draw to Christ, the more light we shall have to lead others by. When we Christians enjoy true friendship with the Lord, we are children of God, bearers, as St. Josemaria says, of “the only flame that can light up the paths of the earth for souls, of the only brightness which can never be darkened, dimmed or overshadowed.”

The Lord uses us as torches, he says, to make that light shine out. Much depends on us. If we respond, many people will remain in darkness no longer, but will walk instead along paths that lead to eternal life. What a great joy to be the occasion for a friend to find his vocation or to reassure someone who has already set out on the way.

What we read in Tobias happens very often: he went to look for someone to accompany him. Our friends have to find us readily available to travel with them along the divine path. Friendship is the ordinary means that God uses to draw many people to him and for them to discover their call to follow Christ more closely. For this reason, those virtues which are at the basis of friendly dealings with others are so important: good example, cheerfulness, cordiality, optimism, understanding, selflessness.

Scripture refers to friendship with the highest praise. It says, “a faithful friend is a sturdy shelter. He that has found one has found a treasure. There’s nothing so precious as a faithful friend, and no scales can measure his excellence” (Sir. 6:14–15).

The same needs to be capable of being said of each one of us. We can ask ourselves, have we been the faithful friend of untold value for others, because our affection always leads them to draw closer to God? In many cases, others will then see and follow their vocation, the one God has called them to follow from all eternity.

We turn to Our Lady, Queen of the Angels. Mary, may you make the pathway safe. Cor Mariae dulcissimum, iter para tutum. May the most sweet heart of Mary prepare a safe way for us, for them, for that sure path that leads to Christ.

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My immaculate Mother, St. Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

EW